(SHANGHAI) Sales of new homes in Shanghai dropped 48 per cent in the first seven months of 2010 from a year earlier, as China’s efforts to cool the property market began to bite, state media said yesterday.

By the end of July, sales in terms of floor space totalled 9.11 million square metres, the Shanghai Daily reported, citing the city’s statistics bureau. It did not provide comparative figures for 2009. Chinese authorities have issued a slew of measures in recent months as they seek to prevent the property market overheating and causing a bubble that could derail the country’s economy.

The government has tightened restrictions nationwide on advance sales of new developments, introduced curbs on loans for third home purchases, and raised minimum down-payments for second homes.

The property price index for July was 10.3 per cent higher than a year earlier, down from a record rise of 12.8 per cent in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said earlier this month. Prices in Beijing remained flat month-on-month in July, while they dipped 0.6 per cent here, and 0.4 per cent in the southern city of Shenzhen, on the border with Hong Kong.

At the weekend, Vice-Premier Li Keqiang urged local governments to implement the central government’s policies to curb speculation in the real estate sector and increase the supply of affordable housing, the Xinhua news agency reported. — AFP

Source: Business Times, 24 Aug 2010